Easter marks the beginning of Northern Ireland’s “marching season,” a time lasting until August which is generally regarded as the tensest time of the year. The season peaks on 12 July, when the conservative Protestant Orange societies lead huge celebrations of the victory at the Battle of the Boyne, where Protestant King William III defeated Catholic King James II and reasserted Protestant control of Ireland.
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| The Loyal People's Protest Joins the March |
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| Members of the Loyal People's Protest Previously Seen on St. Patrick's Day |
Even though it’s not July yet the Protestants have already begun to march, and gathering behind the ornate Orange Hall on Clifton Street, protest bands began to form up, preparing to mark the 1000th day of their opposition to the parades commission’s decision to block an Orange march in 2013 (the Orangemen I saw last Saturday were protesting this same decision). There must have been at least 1,000 people preparing to march or follow the parade down to Twadell Avenue, where the police wait in order to ensure that the march doesn’t pass by the Catholic area of Ardoyne. Ranging from highly professional groups in bright and ornate uniforms, to groups of teens in tracksuits and jeans, Protestants from all walks of life came together join in what was described by fliers pasted around the Protestant Shankill Road as an attempt to “highlight the injustice and discrimination against the protestant Community and to support the local orange parading tradition.”
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| Flier Advertising the March |
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| Some Marchers in Diverse Outfits |
The bands were spread out during the march, in what an ex-army colonel described to me as an attempt to make the parade seem as long as possible. A fair amount of people gathered on the Shankill Road to watch the bands go past, although this march failed to gain nearly as many supporters as the Falls Road Easter Rising parade. One of the more interesting aspects was that many young children were present, either leading bands with red, white, and blue sticks or marching alongside the bands with their own little toy drum sets.
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| Marchers |
As we approached the Twadell Avenue the presence of the P.S.N.I became much more overt. The police have a daily presence on the Twadell Avenue, where a group of diehard Unionists have set up a ‘base’ (Camp Twadell), which has had a permanent garrison for almost three years now. Flying dozens of Union Flags and with Unionist Banners hanging on the walls surrounding the camp they are an irritation to the Catholics in the nearby Ardoyne, an area well known for its continued support for dissident Republicans (the P.S.N.I believe that the recent prison officer bombing was planned in the Ardoyne). The police usually have at least ten Land Rovers stationed at Camp Twadell in order to prevent any violence that might arise at this North Belfast hot spot.
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| Banner at Camp Twadell |
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| P.S.N.I on Twadell Avenue |
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| Flags at Camp Twadell |
Today there were even more flags than usual, and groups of protesters carried huge banners which commemorated three Scottish soldiers “murdered by your neighbours” in 1971, and stating that “Protestants have human rights too.” Behind these protesters was a makeshift podium, draped in Union Flags and behind that the classic line of armoured Land Rovers which have become a staple of Northern Irish protests.
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| Protesters at Camp Twadell |
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| Protesters at Camp Twadell |
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| Protesters at Camp Twadell |
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| Protesters at Camp Twadell |
By now it was getting dark and because I didn’t know the area very well, I thought it best to leave. Getting lost in the working class estates of Belfast after nightfall is not something that appeals to me.
Below I’ve attached a short video which shows some of the march:
Best Wishes,
Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn
Luke, this all looks fascinating. Looks like protests and free speech are very important there. What are Ireland's 1st amendment protections. Is it the same as the United States? Do they have a similar court system protecting these rights? Keep up the great work! - Mr. Hirsch
ReplyDeleteThe United Kingdom has no Bill of Rights, instead basic human rights are protected by parliamentary precedents that have evolved over hundreds of years. However in 1998 parliament passed the 'Human Rights Act,' which gives U.K. nationals the ability to rely on rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights before the domestic courts. Courts tend to make decisions on protecting human right independently, but base their verdict on precedent set by other courts and on laws passed by the U.K, devolved governments, or E.U. parliaments.
DeleteWell done!
ReplyDeleteSo far, you've been alongside a fair number of protests, from both sides of your research. How would you compare them, in terms of activity/tension, reaction, and overall mood? Do the physical protests vary significantly in relation to location and/or religious/political beliefs?
In Northern Ireland there seems to be a real 'marching culture' that's pervasive throughout all of society. Both Catholics and Protestants have a tendency to protest through the common medium of these parades. They both seem equally tense, but the St. Patrick's Day protest was by far the most tense, as it's the only protest where I've seen both sides actually face each other off. I assume that at flashpoint 'interface' areas the protests are just as tense, if not more so.
DeleteIn your video, there seemed to be a lot of piccolo (?) players within the march--what was the song that they played? How long was the march, and how much of it did you end up watching? This was such an interesting post, great job Luke!
ReplyDeleteThe bands tend to call themselves "flute bands," so I think they were carrying flutes and not piccolos. Each band played their own song, but they were mostly military marches or popular songs from the First World War. I watched the whole march but not the whole protest, I was there for around two hours.
DeleteNeato! How do the Catholics in Northern Ireland feel about the Protestant's marching season? Do they have any like counter-marches?
ReplyDeleteThere tends to be a lot of tension during the marching season, and some Catholic groups will have counter demonstrations, however I don't have any specific examples for you.
DeleteNice memes, Luke! Have there been any incidents of anti-protestant behavior around Camp Twadell since its inception?
ReplyDeleteI don't have any specific examples, but I'm sure those at the camp would consider the parades commissions' ruling that they can't march past Twadell to be anti-Protestant behavior.
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